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Professional shoe repair: Save money, time, and your feet

While on my way back from getting some hot tea in the break room at work, I noticed that one of my shoes was making a strange noise. Upon getting back to my office, I saw why: the heel cap had fallen off and was lying next to my chair.

Hmm, I thought. Maybe that’s why I’ve been tripping so much lately. Because I had been tripping. Enough to be embarrassed. I had jokingly chalked it up to becoming klutzy in my “old age.”

I took off my shoe to see if I could press the heel cap back in (at least to get me through the end of the day and back home), and I noticed something further. On both my shoes, the heel had worn unevenly. The inside part of each heel was worn at least a third of an inch lower than the outside part of the heel.

The dilemma

I had known for months that these shoes were wearing out — the right one also had a tear in the leather. But they were my main work shoes. First, they were black, so they went with almost everything. More importantly, they were comfortable enough to wear all day, every day, for 9-10 hours without making my feet hurt.

I’ve always worn shoes well past their expiration date. When I was in fifth grade, the upper part of my sneakers started to separate from the soles, and you could actually see my feet. My mom refused to buy me new ones until after my next growth spurt. While Christmas shopping with my dad, he looked down at my feet and said, “We’re buying you new shoes right now.” I was thrilled beyond words because we were at the mall. Shoes from the mall!

When I was in college and got a full-time internship, my dad bought me my first pair of work shoes. They were Duckhead loafers, and I loved them. I wore them even after they were so misshapen and discolored that my roommate started throwing them away. I kept fishing them out of the trash until eventually she walked them down to the Dumpster when I wasn’t home.

In this instance, I’d been procrastinating buying new shoes because:

It would cost at least $50 for a decent pair of office-appropriate replacement shoes

The replacement shoes would seem comfortable in the store, only to fail the 9-to-10-hours-a-day comfort test in the real world

Shoe stores usually won’t accept returns if they show visible wear so I’d be stuck with the shoes I had bought, and yet…

I’d be back at the store paying another $50 for another pair of potential replacement shoes, and on and on.

I did what anyone would do. I stood in the doorway of a colleague’s office and bemoaned the death of my shoes. She told me that she had had tremendous luck with shoe repair shops in the past. Unfortunately for me, she hadn’t had a shoe emergency since moving to this area and couldn’t recommend a particular shop.

So, I stood in the doorway the office of another colleague, who has lived in this city for years, and asked her if she could recommend a place. She let me know there was a shoe repair shop in a strip mall that her husband had used in the past. Bonus: it turned out to be a strip mall I pass on my way home from work (I hate driving almost as much as I hate shopping).

The solution

I took my shoes in ASAP and relayed my woes to the repair man. “Can you save them?” I asked.

“No problem,” he said. “Pickup on Saturday OK?”

I was pretty skeptical they could really be saved, especially for the $20 that he quoted me, but he seemed so calm and confident that I was willing to try. Saving $30 by repairing shoes is not even close to the hundreds or thousands of dollars you can save by repairing appliances instead of replacing them, but it’s nothing to sneeze at, either.

Lo and behold, when I picked them up on Saturday,

The rip had been repaired

Some sort of resin had been used to restore the entire heel to its original length

The heel caps on both shoes had been replaced, and

They had been polished.

For less than half the cost of a new pair of shoes that I’d probably hate anyway, my existing shoes were completely fixed. Yes, if you pick the shoes up and hold them at eye level you can see a line where the original heels meet the resin. Yes, if you’re six inches away, you can see that the seam repairing the rip doesn’t align exactly with the existing seam on the shoe.

But how often are anyone else’s eyes six inches away from my shoes? Never, that I can recall. Heck, until the heel cap actually fell off and alerted me to the problem, my eyes were never six inches away from my shoes.

Repair, don’t replace!

Shoe repair (aka “cobbling”) is a dying art in today’s age of cheap, replaceable Stuff (as are independent shoe salesmen like those who used to work for Mason Shoes). I found my shop through word of mouth. While I later discovered that they do come up in a Google search for shoe repair shops in my area, it never would have occurred to me that my shoes were salvageable.

Another strategy would be to ask a high-end shoe store whom they recommend for repairs, as that’s how my colleague’s husband found this location. The shop I went to gets a lot of its business because they are an official Birkenstock repair location (and they also repair luggage and anything leather).

I am thrilled to have this store on my radar — not only was the repair fast and inexpensive compared with new shoes, but the fellow who runs the shop is a third-generation owner and operator. I’m not just a happy customer, I’m buying local and supporting a tradition.

What’s your best story about repairing something you thought was destroyed?

I was sent to boarding school for my high school years and had to walk a mile and a half to school every day. As a result my shoes wore down pretty quickly. And that’s when I learned about shoe repair. The uppers last through three sole replacements in my experience.

I still look for a cobbler whenever I move. Fortunately we have one a block from our home. They’re not only good for shoes, but belts, handbags and similar things. I just had a tear on a leather jacket a couple of weeks ago and it’s on its way there — hopefully they can take care of that, too.

But you’re right. They are going the way of the dodo and you have to look for them…

I’m delighted to say that in London, cobblers are alive and well. There is one near my office who does emergency repairs (i.e. provides you a chair to sit on barefoot whilst he repairs your crisis immediately). My favourite cobbler, near my house, will also repair leather handbags, punch holes to make shoes and belts fit better (usually for free if you bring something else in too). My top tips are:
1) keep your good office shoes under your desk and travel in something sturdier to avoid wearing down the heels. Good for your feet too if you have slightly less time in heels
2) buy leather, and polish it to keep it soft as supple, thereby waterproof and avoiding water damage. Good shoes are also easier to repair.
3) always replace the heel BEFORE you entirely wear through a material; once you get to the second layer of composite the repairs are much more noticeable

Our garage door opener was in pieces when we bought the house, and the original manufacturer no longer existed. We thought we’d be stuck buying a whole new system to the tune of several hundred bucks.

But with some research, tinkering, and a $20 kit, Mr. PoP managed to hobble together a solution that isn’t pretty, but works. And continues to work several years later. I’m sure we’ll eventually replace the nearly 30-year-old garage door opener, but in the meantime, every time it opens to let my car in or out, I appreciate how Mr. PoP extended its life.

As a side note, I’ve used cobblers on a couple of my nicer pairs of heels, and they’ve been great at extending the life! If only my sneakers’ lives could be extended in the same way since they are what I wear most often =)

My husband has done this for years. He bought three pairs of high-end, handmade English shoes about 12 years ago (on sale) and brings them in every six months to be re-soled and spiffed up. Every five years or so he sends them to a shoe magician in New Jersey to be full-on reconditioned.

He spent a lot of money on the original outlay, but he hasn’t had to buy a single pair of dress shoes since then. He’s a teacher and is on his feet in those shoes all day, every day.

Since meeting into his old-school, WASPy family a few decades ago, I’ve noticed that this appears to be a characteristic of that social class. His father treats his shoes and clothes and possessions the same way – he just put a new engine in his old Carrera, rather than buy a new one, and has been wearing the same yellow cashmere V-neck sweater for twenty or thirty years. I grew up working class and we never expected our stuff to last that long, maybe because we couldn’t afford the good stuff to begin with or maybe because we had a certain amount of pride wrapped up in being able to buy things new from time to time.

I’ve since read that until the early 1970s, the Royal Family used the same tea trolley that had been used since Queen Victoria’s reign, and that they still use woolen blankets that first came into service during the time of George III. If something works perfectly well or can be mended, why replace it? And the Queen could not be persuaded to replace her fleet of 1930s Rolls Royces until the early 1980s. (Apparently some of the staff complained about the Victorian tea trolley’s weight and lack of maneuverability, so the Queen eventually consented to replace it with a lighter model.)

THANK YOU! I could agree more! In fact, I wrote an article awhile back about the top 5 blue collar workman tools, and the top of my list is my work boots (http://bluecollarworkman.com/top-5-must-have-blue-collar-tools/). And in there is the need to repair them at a cobblers! Don’t buy new all the time, just fix what you have!! Cobblers do great work and make shoes like new again for years.

Glad to see a post promoting shoe repair! I’ve had quite a few pairs of shoes re-soled over the years, the odd handbag repaired or zipper replaced and extra holes punched in belts or sandals. Good quality shoes can be pricy, but when you get lots of wear out of them and can inexpensively repair them, the cost per use and total cost of ownership is actually quite low.

Our shoe repair shop is also a wealth of information. Not sure how to pick out good quality shoes for you or your kids? Wondering how to spot shoes that can easily be repaired? Need to add some extra arch support? All you have to do is ask!

Cobblers can also do some tailoring. I’ve given up on finding boots that will fit my skinny calves as is — instead, I’m looking for a fit that can be altered to fit me (and budgeting accordingly, of course!)

Elizabeth, another option for you might be made-to-measure boots: http://poppybarley.com/
This isn’t inexpensive, by any means, but depending how much wear you would get from boots, it may be good value on a cost-per-wear basis.

Happy to help! I also struggle to find boots that fit, so I can relate. I’m saving up…
(And incidentally, the sisters who started the company are fellow Canadians – I actually heard about them from a “hometown girls make good” feature in our local paper.)

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Shannonsays:

01 February 2013 at 10:25 am

wow those look amazing!!! as someone with large feet and big ankles / calves i’ve never found a pair of boots in my life that fit. this could actually work out!

I currently have duct tape holding some of my freezer together, does that count?

I am not a terribly tech-savvy person but I have friends who are, and they have helped me limp along dying computers, dying DVD players and so forth. In return I like to give those friends baked goods.

I couldn’t agree more with using a cobbler. One should take pride in one’s possessions. I love shoes but am picky and I’ve taken all manner of shoes to the cobbler to include leather boots, a favorite cheap pair of black sandals and orange seude flats from Brazil. I would add that if one is new to using a cobbler, try a few of them out if one has the opportunity. There are three in my area but only one that I recommend.

As far as I know any shop shoes you buy will have less than great soles. I’ve always brought them to a cobbler after a month or 6-7 to get the soles replaced before any more damage happens. This tends to be strong enough to go easily another year before they give out.

Polish your leather shoes well and often with good old fashioned shoe creamer (not the kind that shines without polishing). If they have leather soles, give some creamer to these, too, but brush carefully so that all creamer gets absorbed.
Polish with old pantyhose, rolled to a ball. It will give a great glow.

Always let your shoes rest for at least one day before wearing them again. The leather needs to dry out.

If you need to wash your leather shoes or boots with water: use saddle soap. It does not dry out the leather.

LOL – I am currently wearing my favorite Mary Janes that hold my Profoot arch supports. They look good and feel good. And they do need a trip to the cobbler, so this article is timely.

The only other suggestion I have is, if you have only one pair of wonderful shoes, look around and buy (on sale, when you have the funds) a second pair before it becomes an emergency. Also useful for alternating daily wear.

I was wondering about the support issue too, as I’m in a profession that requires standing for 8+ hours a day. How long (or with how much wear) do supports on good shoes last? Is there anything a cobbler can do to fix support issues, or is it just cosmetics?

Many shoes have removable insoles, and you can buy good quality (not drug-store!) insoles with the kind of support, arch, and heel that you need. I tend to buy new insoles every other year for all my shoes–usually when I’m replacing the heels or entire soles.

There’s a great shoe repair store in my city. I take my favorite boots in every winter to get reheeled and polished. I’ve had them clean a suede handbag, too, to get another season’s wear out of it. Tailors can also do amazing things.

You are lucky, not all shoes can be fixed via a cobbler due to their construction. I had a pair of favorite shoes I took to a shoe repair shop, and because of the way it was constructed (sole and heel one big piece, that was basically glued to the rest of the shoe), no can do. But I did have a pair of leather shoes I was able to have re-heeled and wear for much longer. Typically, more expensive, and also men style shoes (with seperate sole and heel) usually can be repaired, but many women’s (inexpensive, fashion) shoes cannot.

The cobbler couldn’t do a lot to fix my old pair of hiking boots, but they’ve done a wonderful job on various pairs of dress boots. It’s totally worth it, to keep boots that are comfortable to walk in.

I inherited a 1940′s era sewing machine from an older relative. She hadn’t used it for a number of years and the engine had seized up. It ended up costing ~$125 to get the machine rebuilt – while I probably could have bought a very cheap sewing machine from walmart for that price, I’m pretty confident that my rebuilt machine will last me the rest of my life. It’s not fancy, but definitely solid. Also, I’m happy that my $ went to support a local small business.

Agreed! I use a 1950′s era Singer that was left in our house when the previous occupant moved. The tension is a little fiddly and I had some repair work done on it, but it sews like a champ. It is solid steel and weighs a ton. I also have a lighter machine that I take with me when I go somewhere else to sew, but the Singer is my primary one.
I need to have it serviced and cleaned again but the shop that I trusted with it last time went out of business.

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Reneesays:

31 January 2013 at 3:29 pm

I have been using – since the early 80′s – a Bernina Portable machine that dates from the 50′s. I remember as a young, broke student, I paid for it ‘on layaway’, $10 or $20 dollars whenever I had it, and I think I ended up paying a couple of hundred dollars all told.

It is built like a miniature tank, has taken years of sewing abuse through two maternity wardrobes, making clothes for 2 kids, a part-time sewing business, several quilts and I could go on, and it still runs like a dream. Whenever I take it in for servicing, I get offers to buy it from the repairman, who always says something to the effect like “they sure don’t make them like this anymore!”

As an office worker in an industry that doesn’t require me to wear smart work clothes, I am allowed to wear pretty much what I want. This means that throughout the non-rainy months, I live in Converse Chuck Taylors. As with any shoes, the more you wear them, the shorter their life span, and the main problem with Chuck Taylors is that the inside sole wears away, making them uncomfortable to wear. I have taken to putting thin insoles into every pair of shoes I wear now. Insoles are cheap, they’ll only last a couple of months at best, but if they buy me an extra year’s use of my Chucks, then I’m fine with buying about $15 worth of insoles a year.

I have definitely found benefit from using a cobbler in the past. In fact, one repaired a tear in a leather jacket for my husband as well as some shoes for me.

However, does anyone know if running shoes can be salvaged by a cobbler? They are incredibly expensive if you need stabilizing shoes, and I wondered if anyone has had luck with finding someone to repair instead of replace these?

How funny, I was looking around for a shoe repair place just today. I have a purse that needs fixing and my favorite shoes need a spiff up for a trip to DC.

My story is about something that has lasted and lasted. My cousin bought us a set of inexpensive microwave cookware for a wedding present – back in 1985! Today those pieces are still front and center in my cabinet and I use them ALL the time. The handle broke on one, but we just superglued it back on and kept using it. I need to call her and tell her that we sure have gotten her money’s worth out of that set of cookware. I’ll bet we’ve used each piece hundreds of times. That is definitely the gift that keeps on giving!

When my great-grandmother died in 1984, I inherited her full set of Fiesta Ware. She used it everyday from the time she bought it in the 1930s, until the day she died. I’ve used her Fiesta Ware everyday since inheriting it. At this point, it’s had 70+ years of daily use; and it still looks great. Plus, using it brings back lots of wonderful memories of the meals she’d prepare especially for me.

I also use a cobbler quite frequently. I have a pair of dress boots that I purchased 20 years ago. They were quite expensive at the time. But, my cobbler has kept them looking good.

Actually it was radioactive isotopes. The color now called “radioactive red” (but really more of an orangey sort of color) was found to have been made with an ingredient in the glaze that would set off a geiger counter. This caused a TON of folks to bury or destroy it in the 1970s and now it one of the most collectible colors. But I dont know if I would eat out of it.

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Suesays:

30 January 2013 at 9:37 am

My husband & I have always repaired shoes. His expensive work shoes can be sent back to maker for total refurbishment at reasonable cost. But you should really have 2 pair-alternate wearing days-shoes need to dry between wearings. It’s worth the price in the long run!

As for repairing other items, it depends-an inexpensive toaster, for example, is usually not worth fixing, but a nice vacuum cleaner is!

Now you know that you’ll need to replace these shoes eventually. Look at them closely. What is the heel height? What is the insole made of? What is the toe shape? What is the brand? If you bought them online, you might be able to see the style name. Now you have time to look for a replacement that can serve you well instead of buying something to make do when you NEED it.

Depending on your work environment, you might be able to wear the shoes for a while and still return. Bring them to work, put them on and wear them only on the carpet for as much of the day as you can. If you wear them for an hour or 2 you’ll usually be able to tell. If you’re still not sure, wait until the end of the day when your feet are swollen and tired and wear them for a second or third hour then.

However, does anyone know if running shoes can be salvaged by a cobbler? They are incredibly expensive if you need stabilizing shoes, and I wondered if anyone has had luck with finding someone to repair instead of replace these?

I always take my footwear to the cobbler to get the heels, soles, etc replaced and shined. For me it was less about saving money and more about wanting to keep what I have instead of having to throw them out.

I have a pair of Italian boots I purchased several years ago and a faction of the original cost. I take them in every other year to get them tuned up. I know it would be very difficult finding a replacement pair at the price I want to pay if I let them go to pot. So I guess it is about saving money too.

I would suggest taking purses and coats to a good leather repair shop, not necessarily a cobbler. I have a wonderful purse that I have taken to the “hospital” numerous times. It is on its third set of zippers now.

Thanks for sharing this advice! Shoe repairs are great way to save money. Not to mention that you get to keep your shoes are opposed to buying a new pair. I recently broke my best shoes and I was able to keep that great pair because of shoe repair. I like to wear shoes until they can’t be worn anymore.

Theres a small shoe repair shop in the center of my town that I never understood how stayed in business. That was until I was desperate to not have to throw away a favorite pair of heels when they broke. When the cobbler repaired those shoes I remember being ecstatic that I wouldn’t have to go through the process of breaking another pair in to be as comfortable. It is a dying art that more people should take advantage of.

First, it’s fantastic you were able to get your shoes repaired. We’ve done so in the past and I’ve also taken my fiance’s martial art shoes to a shoe repair shop to have the soles replaced with a different material for better use on our school floor.

Second, the description of the wear on your shoes makes me wonder if you should have your gait checked. You can walk into a WalMart and stand on a Dr. Scholl’s machine that checks the way you apply pressure on your feet. If you were standing and walking 100% properly, you wouldn’t have an inordinate amount of wear on your heels. You should have more wear on the ball of your foot; or more even wear over the ball and heel. The inside heel, as we teach people in martial arts, helps to “brake” or stop the foot. Seems like you’re putting too much pressure on your heel at other times, too!

I had my gait professionally evaluated about 10 years ago when I thought I was going to run a marathon (um, no) and they said that I was pronating in some inappropriate direction. But it’s a great idea to check again.

If I’m going to spend any substantial amount of money on something, whether it’s shoes or a purse or a coat, I expect it to be repairable. Some items are worth paying for the quality and repair, and I try to buy things with that in mind. Tall or heeled boots? Great black pumps? I’m willing to spend a little more upfront and go in with the understanding that I’ll be having them repaired for years to come.

On the other hand, trendy items like colourful or embellished ballet flats or a clutch for going out I’ll go super cheap on (if I buy them at all) with the understanding that they’re not worth it to repair.

My favorite save was a pair of black Mary Jane-style work shoes that had hook-and-loop tape closures. After several years those hook-and-loop tapes no longer worked, and the straps pulled open when I walked.

I brought them to the cobbler and we discussed options. In the end I had the cobbler craft a new strap punched to fit a new buckle attached to the shoes, which extended the wear of those shoes a few more years (along with new insoles and regular polishing).

Good post–and it brings back memories. Our family believed in fixing things instead of replacing them if at all possible. We went to the shoe repair place (there was a name for what they did, I can’t remember it) and had taps put on new shoes to make them last longer. They also repaired soles and heels. They used to make a good living, but the tide turned when so many people started wearing athletic shoes a lot of the time. Some of the stores closed. It’s good to hear there are some still in business.

What a great idea! It’s never even occurred to me to have my shoes repaired rather than replacing them. Since the sole/heel wears out the fastest – why not have them repaired? However, I did visit a shop once to have a pair leather shoes stretched when they were too small for me.

In Seattle, the Nordstrom store will clean and shine men’s shoes for free, if you drop them off. I also love their shoe shine stand — I think it’s $3 for shoes, $5 for boots. It is such a treat to have my shoes shined (I’m a woman btw) and it helps them last longer.

As winter comes to an end, I take my fall/winter leather shoes and boots in for a service. Cleaning, new heels as needed, etc. Then they’re ready to go the following year.

These aren’t repair stories, but I owned both a coffee maker and a stainless non-stick pan (All-Clad) that had a lifetime warranty. The coffee maker started acting up after 4+ years; I emailed them, sent it in, and received a brand new coffee maker (the newest model), for just the price of shipping the old one. Same with the pan, which was a gift. I had it 10 years before it started to wear, and I’m sure I’ll have this one just as long. I had none of the paperwork on either of these items, by the way — just called it in, essentially. Getting the new items was like Christmas morning!

Shoe repair is getting hard to find? Not in my neighborhoods, work or home. I think I know why – I live and work in two Brooklyn neighborhoods that are very heavily populated by immigrants. My home is in a neighborhood that is now maybe 3/4 fairly recent immigrants from the old Soviet Union countries – Belarus, Ukrraine, etc. My job is surrounded by mixed neighborhoods, from a wealthy Orthodox Jewish area to poor Haitian or Dominican immigrants. Believe me, both my Caribbean neighbors & my East European neighbors know how to fix stuff. There are several excellent shoe and leather goods repair places near both my home & job. I’ve saved several pairs of Birkenstocks, making them last 15 years or more, and wearing them 6 months of the year or so, with heavy usage.

The problem I have with really good shoes is sweating into these during summer, which ultimately ends up ruining them.

I wear women’s leather flats, of many kinds and styles. I treat them with leather conditioner before wearing, but on a really hot summer day, if I have walked around outside in them, they are wet with sweat by the end of the day. Eventually this starts smelling gross and I have to throw them out. I have tried odor eater insoles (but this only protects the inners, the sides still get sweaty), as well as the powder, but then the powder combines with sweat the next wear and the result isn’t good.

Any tips or ideas for those of us with shitty circulation which lead to sweaty feet?

Stuff them with wadded up newspaper. It dries them out, takes away the smell and helps them keep their shape. Under the circumstances, I would change the paper out a couple of times and have them dry out for a couple of days.

Professional shoe repair is a great idea. I got some shoes resoled last year. I saved a $200 pair of shoes with a $50 fix. Had I not done that I would have had to buy a new pair entirely, which at this point in time would have probably cost me in excess of $200.

Thanks so much for this post, Honey. Shoe repair and I go way back. I had a a pair of black pumps once nicknamed “the tanks” because they just kept going through everything. Some athletic shoes can have new soles glued on- just take them in and ask the cobbler. Another thing I try to always do is buy new shoes from a merchant with an unlimited return policy. Nordstrom, LL Bean, REI, Altrec, Sierra Trading Post and Kohl’s all have great return policies. I’ve returned shoes to all of them but but Kohl’s, but I’ve been told they have an unpublicized 100% satisfaction guarantee. Also, before I wear new shoes I take them to the cobbler’s and ask if they can be repaired. If the answer is no, I return them to the store unworn. I get my money’s worth, the landfill gets spared a pair of shoes and the cobbler makes a living. It’s a great deal.

Yay, shoe repair! Not only do I send my shoes to cobblers when they run into problems, I also send new shoes (particularly heels) in to get half-soled with thin rubber before I wear them. This extends their lives considerably.

My greatest make-do-and-mend achievement was replacing the worn-out elastic on the fitted sheet part of a set of 600-thread count sheets which I had bought for a song when a store closed. They’re wonderful, and there’s no way I could afford to replace them with anything nearly as good, so I instead figured out how to replace the elastic. I continue to feel pretty smug about it.

After arriving in Bangkok a few years ago I realized that my fairly new sneakers were coming away on the sole. Because I am a cheap budget traveler, the last thing I wanted to do at the beginning of the trip was spend my travel money on new shoes. Fortunately there was a shoe repair man by the nearby Skytrain station. He glued the sole back on my shoe and they lasted for the rest of the trip. When I was back in town a month later I waved out to him and thanked him again and showed him my shoes were still working. I think it cost a dollar to do.

I love the shoe cobbler! I don’t buy all high quality shoes (some are flat slip ons from Payless that I get on the B1 G1 1/2 off deal) but when I buy boots or heels, they definitely get taken to the cobbler. Usually, by the time shoes feel awesome to wear, I’ve worn the soles out!

Because of the way I walk, I put extra weight on the heel tips of high heel shoes. On slippery floors, even new shoes would actually slide out from under me. The cheap plastic tips would get very slick and not grip. And the loud noise the hard tips would make! Clack clack clack.

For $5-$8 the local cobbler would glue super hard rubber tips to my heels: problem solved. It was the first place I went after buying new shoes.

My local cobbler has fixed my beloved Danskos multiple times. I too wear my heels unevenly. It had gotten so bad my knees were starting to ache. I finally realized the issue when I saw my shoe sitting on its side. After getting repaired, my knee issues went away!

My husband just used a fire extinguisher yesterday in his good suit at work. Worse yet, he had to use his elbow to bust the glass to get to the fire extinguisher, and he has a little rip in the elbow. He took the suit to the cleaners. Fingers crossed that they’ll be able to deliver on their promise to make everything right again.

I wait for the buy-one-get-one-half-off special at a discount shoe store and buy my work shoes for $20 for the first set (what you paid to repair shoes) and then $10 for the second set. My daily work shoes usually last one year if not a it more.

When that one year is up, I could do as you did and pay $20 to repair them, but I just switch to the second set. When the second set is worn, I could spend $40 to repair both sets, or I could just spend $30 to get another two pairs.

The big difference is that my shoes probably do not look as “modern stylish” as everyone else, but I’m here to save money; not win a fashion show.

@pfinMario, I probably paid $50 or less for my shoes well over 5 years ago. With the $20 I invested in them, they will probably last at least another 5 years. They are not stylish at all, just basic black work shoes.

I’ve bought the super-cheapie ones before, but they make my feet hurt. Better to invest in ones that are still super cheap in the end but don’t cause me any pain!

Love this article! I totally agree that restoring shoes is the way to go and I love my cobbler! I hate breaking in new heels, and by that time, my heel cap is always run down.

I recently bought these heel caps that you can stick over your heels. They’re a great temporary fix to get you through the day/week. Everyone should carry them in their purse. It’s important to keep your shoes in good shape especially when they’re your favorite, go-to, black pair!!!

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